And Then They Kissed
by somuchanemoia
Summary: Will looked so troubled, he couldn't help it. Will was still rambling, but as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Will's, he was finally silent.


Nico was sure Will's head was going to explode if he kept talking. It wasn't that he didn't love Will, he did, but Gods could that boy talk about everything and nothing all at once. It was a nervous habit, he reminded himself as he leaned against Will's side, Will rambled when he was worried.

And Will was almost always worried these days.

Late-August had come about and Will would have to return home to Tennessee by the end of the week. Normally, this wasn't an issue. Will would return home and go to school for the year, he would visit on Winter Break and Spring Break and then come back for the summer. Everything would be all peachy like it normally was when it came to Will.

But this time was different, apparently.

Nico couldn't understand why he made such a big difference when it came to Will's year-round plans. He had promised Will he would visit him whenever Will wanted when he was back home (he was just a shadow away, after all) and they could still talk over the phone or through Iris message. Being a demigod, a child of the Underworld especially, had its perks when it came to long-distance relationships.

This only seemed to pacify Will slightly, however.

Nico could almost feel the anxious waves coming from Will any time he was around him over the past few days. The last time he had felt the sickening sense of worry flowing around Will had been when he'd been in the infirmary; Will tending to him whenever he was conscious. It had been so overwhelming at the time to see the way Will had looked at him with such fear back then, a first for Will Solace. Ever since he had been claimed by Hades, God of the Underworld, Nico was used to being looked at with fear; fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of the dead, but never had he seen the fear that had shown in those blue irises than he did over those days when he had been stuck in a bed in the infirmary.

Fear of him dying was a new fear for him to see and it especially looked heartbreaking on Will Solace's face.

While Will's anxiety was only a fraction of what it had been back then, it still made Nico uneasy. He wanted to help Will, but he couldn't quite figure out how to without following Will down to Tennesse, which wasn't necessarily a viable option.

"I'll have History with Mr. Berger this year," Nico watched Will bounce his knees as he continued to ramble, "he's the football coach at my school. He won't miss me if I decide to stay. And I can always keep up with his crazy antics through social media." His voice was soft, allowing only Nico to hear over the sounds of Will's siblings leading the nightly sing-along as they danced around the campfire. Between being in the back of the group and Will's soft voice, Nico could almost pretend like they were alone for a moment as Will rambled.

"What kind of crazy antics?"

Will smiled slightly as he looked at Nico through his peripheral, "He's a total hoot. He has this weird obsession with the movie Mean Girls–"

"Mean Girls?" Who would want to make a movie about girls being mean to each other? They could just come observe the Aphrodite cabin when Drew was present and see all the meanness that they needed to.

"Don't ask. Anyways, because of that movie he always wears all pink on Wednesday's and does this weird dance to Kenny Chesney music after tests because he gets excited to move onto a new unit. The whoever gets the highest test score for the unit gets to pick a magic rock out of his briefcase as a souvenir for the unit too," Nico reached over and intertwined his finger's with Will's, "There's nothing really magical about them. They're just river rocks that he finds in his pond and brings them to school with him.

"I'll also have Mrs. Martin this year too for AP English. I've heard that last year all her students slowly became obsessed with serial killers and nobody knows why. I deal with enough Greek mythical monsters, I don't fancy knowing anything about the human ones too. I did a year of schooling here, I'm sure it won't be too bad if I stay at camp for the year too. I can always rearrange my staying with Mr. D. and Chiron.

"Besides, who is gonna run the infirmary? As much as I like Kayla and Austin, neither of them are healers and all the other healers are going home for the school year. We'll need a full-time medic on hand in case you or anyone for that matter, gets hurt on the rock wall or during sword practice again," Will gave a nervous sigh, "And have you seen Austin with younger campers? I really need to work on his bedside manner–"

Nico turned his head to look at the boy beside him. Will's blonde hair was shining in the firelight, looking like pure gold in the flickering flames, his tan skin looking even more sun-kissed than normal under the numerous freckles that decorated his cheeks, nose, and arms. Will had his lower lip caught in his teeth, gnawing on it slightly to help with the excessive anxious fidgeting that seemed to come with it.

Will looked so troubled, he couldn't help it. Will was still rambling, but as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Will's, he was finally silent.

This was the first time he and Will had kissed in public. They had shared little pecks here and there in private, all of them awkward and sweet and yet somehow perfect. It had been Nico that had been more reluctant in anything more intimate than hand holding and sitting close when it came to public affection, to begin with, and now here he was initiating it.

Nico could feel the surprise in Will's lips, the way they were at first rigid and stiff, but then slowly began to relax and loosen. Will's head tilted slightly to be more comfortable as his body turned to face Nico's allowing them to be closer, his chapped lips began reciprocating. It was soft and slow; a gentle kiss to ease and soothe.

Nico's arms wrapped around Will's waist as he pulled away and snuggled closer to Will, his head coming to rest in the cove of Will's collarbone, "You worry too much, you know. It's gonna be just fine, Will. We'll figure this out, okay?"

Will was silent for a few moments. Nico was beginning to worry that he had said the wrong thing, but before he could work up the courage to say he was sorry, Will's whisper danced in his ears, "What if you get hurt again?" If Nico hadn't been as close to Will as he was, he knew he would've missed the words entirely.

"I won't."

"You can't promise me that you won't." Will whispered again, his hold around Nico tightening, "We're half-bloods. That's like promising you won't ever sneeze again in your life."

Nico couldn't help but smile slightly at the analogy, "I'll be at camp. It's safe here."

"You fell off the rock wall yesterday and gave yourself a hairline fracture to your left triquetrum."

"If you're referring to my wrist, you healed it up within minutes," Nico hummed as he rolled his wrist a few times effortlessly and without a single ounce of pain stemming from the motion, "Besides, I hardly ever fall off. It was a one-time thing."

Will sighed and rested his cheek on Nico's birds' nest of hair, "What if I'm not here to fix you up? And it wasn't actually your wrist you broke. It was your triquetrum in your hand."

"Nerd," Nico mumbled with a grin, "I'll do what everyone else does and go to the infirmary and have Kayla or Austin give me some nectar. Or if it's more serious, I can go see Chiron. That's what everyone use to do remember?"

"I know, but…"

Nico swallowed, "I'm not gonna fade again Will. That I can, in fact, promise."

"Neeks–"

"I have too much to lose now," Nico hummed as he smiled into Will's shoulder, "I have to finish redecorating my cabin and I wanna see Frank and Hazel when they come to visit. I have sword fighting classes to teach and technology to finally learn how to use. I have books to read and movies to watch. And I have an adorable blonde dork to wait for until he comes back in December."

A raspy chuckle passed between them, the tension almost was gone from Will's presence as they cuddled and talked by the fire, "I'll be back in time for your birthday."

Nico frowned softly for a moment, "Uhm, Will, my birthday is in January."

"I know. We'll just have to celebrate early. You'll be sixteen this year."

He snorted, "I'll be ninety-four, Will."

Will couldn't help but chuckle too, "Maybe I shouldn't be dating such an old man."

"I know. It's totally repulsive." Nico leaned up and pressed another kiss to Will's lips, this one just as gentle and soft as the last one, but still showing the gentle comfort of their breathy laughs with it.

"I love you, Neeks," Will hummed against his lips.

"I love you too, Will."


End file.
